The Mark of a Hero
by yo-soy-tu-guminola
Summary: Cleo learns that she has to defeat Evil. Can she do it? She's sure she can, if she's with her friends.
1. Chapter 1

THE MARK OF A HERO

PROLOUGE

There once was a little girl named Valeria. She was around the age of six. One night she had a dream, a nightmare really, that changed her life for the worst. In her dream she saw pure, pitch black darkness and heard only creepy carnival music. When she heard that music she immediately started to walk toward the front door. Val didn't know what she was doing because she was still asleep having that horrible nightmare. She walked out the front door and started walking down the street. Wherever she walked all of the lanterns went out so there was total darkness where ever she went. She kept walking down the street, her eyes still closed. When she made it to the woods near her village she turned and walked straight behind a tree. Then there was a blood curling scream, a moment of nothing and then there was no longer total darkness. All of the lights went back on, but there was no longer any one named Valeria. Her parents had never had a child; no one ever knew a girl named Val. She no longer had a soul, so she no longer existed. Now her soul was replaced with a mark; the mark of a hero.

THE STORY BEGINS

Val woke up. "Where am I?" She thought. Then she realized something. "_Who_ am I?" She sat up and looked around. There were trees everywhere. "I must be in some kind of forest or something." She said to her self. She looked behind her. She saw a path. It looked like a way out. She looked the other way. It looked like it led deeper into the woods. It also looked like something horrible had torn through it. There were claw marks on the trees and the bushes were missing some leaves. She noticed that the birds never sang here. They just sat perched on the branches and did nothing. She tried to decide witch way to go. Then she realized something else that was a little strange. She didn't really have emotions. She didn't know to go out of the woods or deeper into the woods because she wasn't adventurous or curious, but she wasn't scared and she didn't exactly stick to common sense either. She just decided randomly to go deeper into the woods. She started to head that way. Then she heard an extremely loud screeching noise. Then and there she experienced her first emotion, fear, as a creature with enormous pincher hands, razor sharp teeth and slimy looking skin tore through the bushes and started running toward her. The birds started flying toward the exit and she decided they knew what they were doing so she followed them. As she started to run she noticed her legs felt like jell-o. She tried as hard as she could to keep running. The creature was gaining on her. She felt dizzy. Then she just couldn't take it any more. She collapsed on the ground. She was almost out of the woods. She looked up and noticed how close the thing was. She tried to get up but she felt faint. She looked up again and to her horror the thing had caught up with her and was standing about two feet away from her. It screeched again and it was so loud this time Val had to cover her ears. It raised its head and screeched once again, but this time its pinchers transformed into claws. It swiped at Val and at that moment she experienced a new feeling, pain. Blood began pouring out of her shoulder where it had scratched her. She screamed in pain. She now knew what it could do to her and how it could make her feel. So now she was determined to get away from it. She made her self get up and start running again. Luckily for her the thing, whatever it was, wasn't fast to react. She got a head start. It screeched in rage and started running again. Val felt faint again, but she didn't want to experience pain so she kept running. Finally she ran out of the woods and didn't stop running for a while. Her shoulder was still extremely painful. She stopped and sat down to catch her breath. The thing had stopped chasing her now. But she still heard it screeching in blind fury at the top of its lungs. It made her shiver. She got up and looked around. The pain in her shoulder faded in and out constantly. The bad thing was that she didn't know how to make it stop. She started walking down the road. She saw a little village down yonder. She hoped the people there knew how to make her shoulder stop bleeding. When she got there a man, a woman and six children ran up to her. "Are you OK?" the woman asked franticly. Now that she no longer had the adrenaline in her body, her shoulder was more painful than before. "Now that you mention it, I feel really dizzy." She said as she lost all feeling and fell onto the ground unconscious. She woke up staring up at a ceiling in a small house with all six of the children staring down at her. "Back off and give her some air." the woman that she saw earlier was saying to them. They all backed up and the woman came to sit next to her. "What happened?" Val asked. "You tell us." the man said. "Harold." the woman said scolding him. "You fainted." one of the children said. The woman started wrapping a bandage around her shoulder. "My name's John." the oldest of the children said. He was tall and had sandy colored hair. "I'm Anna." one girl said. She looked to be about the age of seven or so. Her hair was a very dark black. "I'm Ted and this is Tommy." a boy said pointing to what looked to be his identical twin. They were almost the same age as Anna. They had very blonde hair and wearing the same cloths. "I'm May." a girl that looked like she was a year or so younger than John. Val noticed that there was another girl, but she didn't introduce her self. She was young, about five. "Alright let's let her rest every one." the woman said when she had finished wrapping the bandage. Everyone left but the little girl. She walked over to Val and said "I'm Sarah." "Hi." "You can have Mr. Snuggles. Mommy says that I'm too old for him." She said. She handed Val a very worn out stuffed bunny. Then she experienced another new feeling, happiness. Sarah smiled a very beautiful smile at her. "By the way, I think you look pretty with all of those sparkles on you." "What sparkles?"

She got up and walked to the closest mirror. She saw her reflection and gasped. She no longer looked like she was six. She was as tall as a fifteen or sixteen year old girl. Her blonde hair was long and looked like it hadn't even been brushed in ten years. What also surprised her was that her body looked like it had faded or something. Her bright blue eyes stood out against her pale skin. "You see the sparkles?" Sarah asked. She did see a little twinkling here and there. "Yeah." What was going on? She didn't remember growing up or having a having a family or friends or even her own name. Here she experienced confusion. Then the woman walked in the room. "Would anyone like a snack?" "Ooh, me. I do." Sarah said happily. "Come on then." She followed Sarah into a big room where she saw every one eating delicious looking bread. She sat down next to John. "You want some?" He asked her pointing to some bread. She shook her head. She was too shaken to eat. "More for me!" He said. "John." The woman said scolding once again. "Sorry." Val noticed that everyone was staring at her excitedly. "I'm sorry dear, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Tracy." The woman said. Val nodded a greeting. "My name's Harold." the man said. "So what's your name?" Anna asked before Val could say hi. "Yeah what's your name?" The twins prompted. "Uh. My name is ….um, uh……I don't really know what my name is." She stammered. "Well if you don't know your name then where are you from?" John asked. "That's a good question." "How old are you?" Anna asked. She shrugged. "Where are your parents?" Sarah asked. "Parents?" "Yes dear, your mother and father." Tracy said. Then Val experienced sadness. She didn't really know why though. She wasn't even sure she was real or not. "I don't have any." She said in a mist of deep thought. How was this possible? She didn't remember anything about her past. She couldn't remember any places she had been other than the forest. "How about we go shopping to find you some new clothes." May said. "Yeah" Anna said excitedly. "Ok then, we'll go shopping. Come on everyone." Tracy said. They all headed out the door. Val was amazed at the many crowds of people walking around outside. May grabbed her arm and tugged her along with the rest. "So, you're as tall as me. Let's say you're sixteen." "Um, Ok." "Let's go try on some clothes and see how you look." Anna said. She tugged on Val's arm. "No, let's go do your hair." May said in an arguing tone. She tugged her toward a building toward the left. "Clothes" Anna said. She tugged Val toward a building to the right. "Hair" "Clothes" "Hair" "Clothes" They argued. "Look, let's go try on some clothes and then you can see what hair style goes best with my outfit." Val said. "Ok" They said. Anna grabbed Sarah's arm and May grabbed Tracy's arm and they were all dragged inside the building to the right. May ran straight for a dress that looked expensive. It was black with a gold belt with embroidered dragons on it. It was exactly Val's size. Val looked upon it with amazement at its beauty. She hadn't seen anything more beautiful in her life. (Or so she thought) "You like it?" May said and brought it up to her. "Yes. It's beautiful." Val replied and took a hold of it. It was made of silk and soft to the touch. "Well it looks like it would fit you perfectly." Anna said. "Try it on! Try it on!" Sarah yelled and tugged on Val's hand. "But your shoulder…" Tracey said and pointed to Val's left shoulder where her bandage was. Val had completely forgotten about her injury. It no longer hurt. "Well take the bandage off then!" Sarah yelled and slipped it off for she desperately wanted to see Val in that beautiful dress. Everyone expected to see hideous slash marks where the thing had scratched her, but there was no wound under the bandage at all. They all stared at the spot where she had been hurt, mouths hanging wide open. "But… how ….you… the ……. huh?" May stammered. "That's impossible." Tracey said with a strange look of fear on her face. Why was she so scared? Suddenly Sarah snapped out of it and yelled at her to try on the dress so she did. The boys walked in at the same moment that Val stepped out of the dressing room to show the dress to everyone else. "There you are girls. We've been looking for y-…." John said as he caught sight of Val standing in the middle of the room. His mouth instantly dropped open at the goddess of a girl in a black dress and a gold belt with dragons on it. The twins whistled simultaneously and Anna slapped them both on the head. Here Val experienced embarrassment. "That's definitely the dress for you." Sarah said awed at the beauty. "Now hold up. How much is it?" Tracey asked. "I'll go ask the owner." Val said desperate to get away from the stares of the boys. She walked into a dimly lit room at the back of the store. The first thing she noticed was a sword in its golden sheath resting on the wall. "Yes, what would you like?" an old woman's voice called out from the right. Val turned her head toward the voice. She saw an old woman sitting at a table. She was wearing a gray robe the same color as her messy gray hair. Around her neck she wore several bead necklaces. Her back was hunched over and she continued to stare at the table. She was slightly frightening. "Uh…um how much is this dress?" Val stammered. "It won't matter." the lady said mysteriously. "Um…" Val said. "It won't matter once you see what I have in store for you." the woman said in her scratchy voice. Val said nothing for she was confused and slightly scared. "Would you like to see what I have in store for you?" the woman asked and got up. "I guess." Val said because it seemed that she didn't have a choice. The woman walked up to her so their faces were merely a half an inch apart. "What I have in store for you…" she said reaching under her robe. "is… death!!!" she screamed and revealed a shining dagger from under her robe. Fear once again erupted through Val. Some crazy old lady had a dagger and was trying to kill her. (OK, that's not strange at all. O_o And don't you start thinking that I'm crazy too!) The lady slashed at her heart and Val jumped away just in time. (d._.b It's a DJ!!!! Yes, I had to do that. Now back to the story!) The jump was almost in-human because of the strength and swiftness of the move. Val didn't know that she could do something like that. The lady swung again this time yelling in rage. Val jumped again. They did this several times before, without thinking, Val did a back flip and in the same motion, kicked the lady against the wall where the sword rested. Val became uneasy. Something was tugging at the edge of her mind. It was a feeling of warning. Then that feeling went away and was replaced with a feeling of dismay, anger, and hurt as the lady's figure changed before her eyes. A black light filled the room and when it went away, the thing that she had seen earlier stood before her in the place of the woman. Val was petrified with fear as the thing screeched angrily. It ran toward her and she snapped out of it, ducking from its swinging claw, and ran behind it. She couldn't control her body. It had a mind of its own. She grabbed the sword, took it from its sheath and held the elegant beauty in her right hand. A symbol that looked similar to a complex Indian kolam was printed on the pommel. (A kolam is a doodle in India girls use to express their artistic ability. Some can be 3 steps, some can be 7 steps, and some are complex. They're basically just 3, 7, or more, dots with continuous line or loops around them. The better they are drawn, the more good luck and health they are supposed to bring to the girls, or sometimes boys who draw them.) Its hilt was a shining gold, the same color as the sheath. The thing charged at her again, its sharp teeth showing. Val took a graceful leap over it and landed on the other side of the room. Val couldn't believe it. It was like she was a super hero with super powers. Whenever she jumped, it was more like a glide than a jump. And her movements were so graceful it seemed as if she had been training as a master swordsman for her whole life. (Or swordswoman, but that just doesn't sound right to me. I'll just use the term swordsman for now because we all know she's a girl.) Suddenly the blade of the sword began to glow. The thing saw this and screeched in blind fury again. Its beady eyes grew red and it swung as hard as it could at Val. She lifted the sword and it locked with the thing's razor sharp, bloody claws. She kicked it with in-human strength and it went flying. It slammed against the wall and slumped against it, unconscious. Suddenly Val's fear was replaced with extreme hate, blind fury, sadness, dismay, and more and more hate for everything. It was eating her alive. Then an awesome pain came to the back of her hand. The combination of the physical and emotional pain made her drop to her knees on the wooden floor. The rage flooded her and the pain in her hand grew worse and worse. _"Why is this happening? What's going on? Why me?" _she screamed in her head. The rage, the anger, the sadness; It was over coming her. She looked up at the thing. _"This is all happening because of that! It's all its fault!" _She thought. The pain was way too much for her. She gripped the hilt of the sword tight and with all of the strength she had left, lunged toward the thing. She swung her arms down and the sword, which was glowing very brightly now, pierced the thing's heart. That instant the pain in her hand went away and the horrible emotions faded slightly. The thing's body then just dissolved right in front of her eyes. The sword landed on the floor was a loud _crash_. Val suddenly awoke from the trance of pain and gulped for air. It was like she had been underwater for a long time struggling to get to the surface. Her body was numb and like jell-o. She went to the floor again and continued to breathe heavily. _"What happened? Did I hurt anyone? …… How much is the dress?"_ she thought. Her eyes caught hold of the beauty lying before her. The sword had stopped glowing yet it still had its sheen. Its sheath was on the other side of the room. She grabbed the sword and walked over to it. She slid it in with a _slish_ and held it tightly. _"You're mine now."_ she said in her head. She decided to pretend nothing happened so the others wouldn't worry for her. She was thankful for them. They had saved her life and she didn't think it was right for her to make them worry over her. _"Sooo… I guess the dress is free." _She thought as she slid the sword in her belt. She stepped back into the main room of the store. She gasped when she saw that everything, including all of the dresses, was gray and that everyone had a blank look on their face. Nothing moved. "Hey, wake up." she said and snapped her fingers. Suddenly everything was bright and colorful again and everyone's faces went back to normal.


	2. Chapter 2

"So how much is it?" Tracy asked casually. Val didn't really know what to say. "It's…. uh… it's free." she stammered awkwardly. Tracy shrugged and walked out the door. Everyone followed. After all of that physical and emotional pain, Val was exhausted. Anna seemed to notice something was wrong. "How 'bout we do your hair tomorrow?" she said. Val nodded and was dragged back to the house. They all ate and all of the girls started to brush Val's hair. It was extremely full of tangles, but when her hair was yanked, Val was too tired to notice. She had almost fallen asleep at least 7 times before the girls were through. She slept in May's room that night.

Suddenly she awoke choking on smoke. She looked

for May, but she wasn't there. The smoke continued

to choke her. By instinct, she jumped up and grabbed

her new sword. She ran outside to see everything on

fire. She was scared again. The fire lit up the night.

Her hand flew to her sword when she saw a figure

race toward her out of the corner of her eye. She

turned around to see a burly man in front of her. He

was dressed in black leather. His lengthy hair was

black too. His most disturbing feature was an extra

eye on his forehead. "My my, aren't you pretty?" he

said. His voice was deep and gruff. Now Val was

terrified. The man reached forward and tried to grab

her. Val dodged. The man growled. "Do you know

who I am?" he screamed. Val unsheathed her sword

and got into a ready position. Again she couldn't

control her self and had no idea what she was doing.

The man laughed. He pushed her to the ground. "If I

can beat Crispin and Troy, I can surely pulverize a

little girl like you." he said. Val had no idea what he

was talking about but she just ignored it. The fire

suddenly flickered out like a candle. The man looked

up, a worried expression on his face. Two caped

figures jumped down from the remains of a burnt

house. "You haven't beaten us yet, Haman." one said.

Val saw that they both had swords. The pain on the

back of her hand erupted. "Well I'm about to kill you

all! You'll never succeed! I'll kill her and you will all

die!" the man named Haman screamed in a crazed

voice. He looked at Val. One of the figures came at

him with amazing in-human speed. Haman jumped

to the top of a house. One shadow followed while the

other walked up to Val. He bent down and offered a

gloved hand to help her up. She took it. "You OK?"

the shaded young man asked. He tone was different

than the one he had used with Haman. It was soft,

gentle and kind. "I'm fine." "Well then, we should

probably go after him." he said yet his voice was still

gentle. Before Val could respond, she was being

tugged along with a total stranger. Up ahead she saw

Haman and the other stranger's outlines fighting. "You might want to

take cover." the gentle voice said to her and ran off

to accompany his companion. Val took that as an

order and hid behind a big barrel. How very badly

she wanted to see the strangers' faces, but the moon

was hidden behind thick clouds and it didn't shine.

The darkness that resulted kept their identities a

secret. "Do you really think you can defeat me? And

do you really think you can even keep that girl alive?

I'll kill you two; I'll kill the girl, and then the boss

will control every bit of magic known to man."

Haman screamed in his crazed voice. "She has more

strength than you think. I can sense it. She is

overflowing with wisdom, strength, and love. I'm

sure she could kill you if she really wanted to." the

voice that had been gentle with Val, but was now

very hostile said calmly. He seemed to always have a

calm head and princely air around him. The other

stranger Val knew nothing about. He hadn't spoken

at all and she had barely got a glimpse of him. He just

seemed to be very strong, yet his movements were

careful. Val noticed that he wasn't looking directly

at Haman. It was as if he didn't need to see him at all

to predict what he was about to do. Haman let out a

scream of rage and lifted his hand. To Val's surprise,

a blast of black magic came from it. The strangers

dodged, one jumping to the right, the other to the

left. Haman tried to hit them many times, but failed.

After a while, Haman came to an abrupt stop and

looked directly at Val's hiding place. One stranger

noticed and jumped in front of her and blocked

Haman's strike swinging his sword to send it back to

him. He avoided it by an inch. The strangers

exchanged nods. The stronger one lifted his

sword and said "Raging Fire". His voice was low, yet in a way, comforting. Out of the tip of the sword

came a blast of fire. It was a direct hit and Haman

was sent flying. He landed on the ground with a

thump. The pain in the back of Val's hand had been

growing all his time. Now it hurt so much she almost cried. The strangers rushed over to her. "Are you alright?" the gentle boy asked. She decided not to worry them and tried to ignore the growing pain in her hand. "I'm alright." she lied. "Well then, I think we should get moving before he wakes up." said the stranger and pointed to Haman. Here Val experienced concern for the first time. "What about everyone else? Will they be OK?" she asked. "We don't have time to worry about them. Besides, I'm sure they'll be safe if we all leave. The three of us are the ones who put them in danger in the first place." the low voice said. "C'mon, we have to leave before we get them in even more trouble." the gentle voice added, and grabbed Val's hand to help her up. The moment they made contact though, the pain in the back of her right hand exploded and everything went black.

She woke up with a tremendous headache and was reluctant to move. The sky above her was a clear azure with white, fluffy clouds scattered here and there. The wind whispered a playful tune in her ears and ruffled the leaves on the trees. The sun was high in the afternoon sky. She sat up and looked around. There were two horses grazing on the flourishing, green grass. One of the figures from last night was tending to them. He was dressed in a red cape and a ragged tunic. His boots were worn and covered in mud. His hair was a dark brown. He turned around and Val could see that his eyes were a light baby blue. They were so light, they were almost white. (I'm a poet and didn't know it.) Val tried to get up, but everything hurt. He knelt beside her and said "Are you hurt?" His voice was low and controlled, yet emotional. A sudden sense of relief flooded over her and she was alright. Apparently, the only thing that was bothering her was nerves. She nodded her head to answer his question. Suddenly, a head popped out from the tree she was sitting under. "Good" it said. The head jumped down along with the rest of its body. The first thing Val noticed was the princely, gentle air that hung around him. His voice was quite charming and soothing. His big, bright blue eyes were kind and inviting. His hair was as black as the night sky and shoulder-length. His clothes weren't nearly as dirty or ragged as the other's were. They looked like they were made of rich materials. The other boy looked irritated at being ignored so he said "So what's your name?" It was sort of a change of subject and Val's mind was as slow as a snail, so she wasn't prepared for the question. "Uhhhh…" was all she could say. "Well then we'll introduce ourselves first then. I'm Crispin." the "prince" said in that princely voice of his. (Here's a hint: _Prince!_) "I'm Troy." said the ragged one waiving the spotlight. (Waiving is a Wordly Wise word!) "Now let's name you!" Crispin yelled. At first he was like a prince. Now he was a playful child who always wanted all of the attention. "Let's see… you look like a… ummm… uhhh…" He babbled on and on saying names and glancing at Val trying to see if the name fit her. None did. "How 'bout Cleopatra? That seems to fit her" suggested Troy eventually. Crispin's eyes lit up even more. "Yeah! Cleo! That's it!" he said quite excitedly. He looked at Val/Cleopatra. His face flushed, turning a very crimson red. (Flush is a Wordly Wise word too!) He fidgeted uncomfortably and crossed his arms. His face was fixed into an expression you make when you're trying to not to scream. He seemed to shrink away slowly. (Yay, I wrote my first fluffy moment ever!!! Go me!) "So you're officially Cleo now. Welcome to the club." Troy said and put a hand on her shoulder. He seemed much, much more mature and aware of others than Crispin. Though his eyes were almost colorless, they seemed full of life, and love. Through his eyes, Cleo could tell that he considered her a friend. (OK, let's make sure that you know Val is Cleo now. Keep that in your head and you'll understand a little bit better. If I say Val, you know who I mean right? Get it? Got it? Good.) She could tell by his voice that he loved Crispin as a friend and was willing to put up with him no matter how annoying he got. Cleo looked up at the sky. She was awed at the beauty of the world. She looked at the two horses. One was black and seemed wild, energetic, and playful. Yet it was majestic and beautiful at the same time. _"Just like Crispin."_ she thought. The other was a chestnut color with a slightly darker mane. It was gentle, loving, and loyal. _"That one's just like Troy." _For a while she sat and enjoyed the peace while Crispin was sulking around, not saying a thing. "It's so pretty." she said to Troy. "All the colors… they're so amazing." "I wouldn't know anything about colors. I've never seen any." Cleo jerked around and looked at him, surprised and confused. His eyes were off flying in a totally different world. A strange smile raced across his face and Cleo felt ashamed for staring, for she had figured out what he had meant. Troy was blind. "I-I'm sorry." she stammered busy punishing herself for not noticing it at first with his strangely colored eyes and all, and for going off and talking about colors when he couldn't see them at all. "For what?" She stiffened feeling embarrassed. "I shouldn't have been talking about colors and how pretty things are. You must feel bad now." "No, not really." he said with that odd smile on his face. His voice betrayed him though. Cleo sensed slight pain hidden behind it. This was the fist time she felt guilt. Suddenly, Crispin popped up between them. He pointed into the distance. Troy's and Cleo's gaze followed his finger. _"How does Roy know where he's pointing?"_ Cleo thought. She forgot all about it when she saw two beastly figures heading toward them at a quick pace. "Fight or run?" Crispin asked. He was princely again. _"What's with this guy?"_ "Run, we aren't in that good shape at the moment." Troy said solemnly. "Right, but Cleo doesn't have a horse." Crispin said dumbly. "Well then one of us will have to share, oh smart one." Troy said and helped Cleo up. They ran over to the horses when they noticed how close the beasts were getting. "Cleo, meet Nia. Nia, meet Cleo." Crispin said, introducing Cleo to the black horse. Then Troy told her that his horse's name was Jupiter. (Why Jupiter?) The beasts were really close now. Crispin jumped onto Nia in on swift, in-human movement as Troy clambered onto Jupiter. "You'll probably want to ride on Jupiter. He's gentler than Nia." Crispin said. When he said it, it was more like an order than a suggestion. The beasts were awesomely close now. Cleo felt fear. Suddenly the sky went dark. Troy muttered under his breath and then said "We're too late." _"How does he know it got dark?"_ Cleo wandered. The beasts were so close now, Cleo knew what they were. They were the same thing she had fought and killed before. "So I guess we fight now." Crispin said. He unsheathed his sword. It had a gleaming, silver blade. Its hilt and sheath were decorated with fine jewels. The pommel had a similar design to Cleo's on it. It was smaller though. (It's a seven step kolam.) He and Troy jumped off of their horses. Then Troy unsheathed his sword. Its blade was a golden beauty. The hilt was a grayish-black. The pommel had the same thing as Crispin's and Cleo's swords, except it was even smaller (Three step kolam) and it was in gold. The beats were really, really close now. Cleo decided to copy Crispin and Troy, so she unsheathed her sword too. "I didn't know you had a sword!" Crispin yelled in a stupid voice. "I'm blind and I knew that!" Troy said amazed at his idiodicy. But Cleo wasn't focused on them. She fixed her gaze on the monsters. She hated them. She hated them so much. One of their kind had caused her much pain and misery on their last encounter. "Do you even know how to use that thing? " Crispin said. He hadn't meant it as an insult, but Cleo took it as one. "Yes I do! Don't you dare underestimate me you fool, or I'll send you to be with your long gone ancestors!" she screamed, venting all of her anger out on him. His eyes widened in pure astonishment and Troy's mouth dropped open. She normally would've snapped out of it and apologized for being rude, but the pain in her right hand came back and her mind wasn't right. She felt the anger, hate, and pain she had felt before in the back of the shop. "What?!?" she yelled furiously. "Temper, temper" Troy dared say. "Shut your trap!" The anger was boiling inside of her. "What's your problem?" Crispin asked a little mad that she had yelled at Troy. Cleo came back to reality for a second. "My hand…" was all she could utter, for the searing pain in her hand was about to make her cry again. "Oh boy" Troy said clearly very worried for her. Cleo was feeling the anger again and ignored him. Also, the beasts were only a couple of meters away. (Details, details) They were all ready for a brawl. 1…2…3…and. One of the monsters dove straight for the horses while the other went over to the team. Crispin and Troy's first priority was to protect Cleo from any harm. They blocked every blow aimed at her. Meanwhile the horses were doing a pretty good job of beating up the monster, but they still needed help. Cleo hadn't even had a chance to strike with the boys always in her shadow. She looked at the poor horses. They were worn out and the monster had taken advantage of it. Cleo watched in horror as the thing screeched, swung its arm and slashed Jupiter on the flank. He cried in pain as blood started gushing from the wound. Cleo heard a whizzing noise and looked up. It was raining arrows. As a plus, they were on fire. (A plus for the enemy. Hmpf. ) Cleo didn't even see the arrow, but it somehow breached the boys' little circle of defense and grazed her left shoulder. The pain in her hand and the pain in her shoulder were overwhelming and would drive any normal person mad. The beautiful landscape was now on fire. The horses were fighting furiously for their lives. Troy was wounded with a bloody hand and many bruises. He was getting weaker by the second. The arrows continued to fly. The monsters never seemed to tire. The fire was growing. The horses were almost about to give up. Crispin had a long gash on his left cheek. His clothes were bloody form the steady flow of crimson red from his face. He looked so weak and tired now. Val's hand hurt like heck and her shoulder too. The anger, the pain, the sorrow; it all was too much for her. All hope was lost. They had lost. They had lost… until Cleo couldn't take it anymore. She lifted her head, looked at the black sky, and let out a terrible scream of anger. As if struck by their own arrows, the archers froze, their eyes wide, and dropped dead. The beasts cringed, but stood their ground. Then it stared to rain. (Strange weather patterns.) She looked back down at the beasts. Fury flooded over her. She gripped her sword tightly and began to slowly walk forward. The team's breathing was heavy and labored. Cleo pushed the boys aside and faced the monster in front of her. It seemed scared of her and didn't attack. The rain had put most of the fire out. Cleo lunged at the monster. The blow was so hard that it knocked it back, but it was blocked. The other one came at her. She parried. "Who do you think you are?!?" she yelled and swung her sword. It sliced off one of the beasts' head off in one quick movement. Its body fell to the ground in a pile. The other one whined in fear and started to run away. Cleo lifted her sword to throw it at it, but she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, ready to kill whoever it was. It was Crispin. He was bloody and so weak. Troy came to stand next to them. His appearance was the same as Crispin's. They were all so tired. Nia was wounded with a couple of arrows. Jupiter's flank was still bleeding. (Waaaahhhh!!! Poor little horses! Why does it have to be like this? Oh yeah…) Suddenly the pain in the back of Cleo's hand became even more intense. She screamed in agony and dropped to her knees. All she could do was stare at the ground. The only thing she saw was a mixture of mud, water, and blood. She raised her hand into view. On the back of it was the same design as the one on the pommel of her sword. It was glowing purple. Cleo, Troy, and Crispin stared in amazement. The glowing stopped to reveal what looked like a tattooed Kolam in black ink on the back of Cleo's right hand. The pain faded away instantly. What was going on? Cleo got up and looked at Crispin and Troy, desperately searching for an explanation. They just stared back. Then their hands started to glow too. The glowing stopped. Their marks were the same ones that were on their swords too. The three of them just stared at their hands not really


	3. Chapter 3

knowing what they should do. _"What's going on? How could this happen so fast? Why don't I remember anything? Why is this even happening at all? Who is trying to kill me? Who? What? How? When? Where?" _Cleo asked herself, wanting to know the answer to every question there was. She snapped out of it when Crispin yelled "Nia, Jupiter!" Cleo looked up and saw him running toward the two horses. They were bloody, tired, and weak just like everyone else. Cleo saw great worry in Troy's colorless eyes and movements as he ran to Jupiter. Cleo made her legs move and ran over to them too. Sadness and a new feeling of pity came to her when she got closer. Their breathing was labored. Crispin and Troy examined their horses. _"How does Troy know that Jupiter is injured on the flank?" _Cleo asked herself amazed at his abilities to "see" when he was blind. She turned her attention away when she heard a slight whisper in her ear. She couldn't understand, for it was barely a whisper. She looked around for someone but found only Troy, Crispin, Nia, and Jupiter. She began to wander if it was the wind. No, it was a woman's voice. Was she imagining things? No, it was definitely there. It grew louder… and louder… and louder until she was able to understand what the whispering voice was saying. It said "Take action… Use my power… Save them… or they shall perish. Take action, oh great hero. Use my power, sage of magic. Save them, savior of all, or they shall perish. Save them and there shall be peace over the land, my greatest ally. Save them… Save them… Save them… or they shall perish. Use my power, wielder of the sword. Use my power or they shall perish. Take action, heroine of all life. Save them… or they shall perish." Suddenly, she was in a dream like world. She was in a dark, circular room. In front of her was a beautiful, elegant lady with flowing, lavender gowns of silk. Her hair was white and pulled back with golden thread. Her face was slightly aged, with pointy eyes, and a pointy nose and mouth. She wore earrings of gold. She wore no makeup. Beside her was a golden harp that she played skillfully. She sat in a beautiful wooden chair. It was the lady that was whispering to her. She continued with her message. "But be cautious, young one. It is a dangerous path that you must take. You do not have a choice. Save them or they shall perish. Be careful, my dear, for there will be many complications and obstacles along the way. Do not let your emotions control you. I know emotions are new to you and you do mot understand the evil of them. They will control your life if you are weak. Be strong, oh heroine. Do not become too attached to your friends, for if something happens to them, you will suffer. All will suffer if you don't save them." she paused to pluck a string on her harp. Cleo had been totally silent throughout her lecture. (Well that was only part of her lecture. I'm boring myself by writing this. *Yawn*) "Who are _they_? I want to be close to Troy and Crispin. My emotions don't control me." she burst out. "Well I see that I am of no help to you. You're a peppy little girl. Tsk-tsk. I'll just leave all of the explaining to your friends. But don't forget that I'm lending you my power. Save them or they shall perish." Soon she was back in the real world. It had stopped raining. Cleo looked around in amazement. Everything was back to normal. No one was wounded, not even Cleo. The horses seemed happy. So did the boys for she could see Troy elbowing Crispin with a teasing look on his face, off in the distance. Crispin whirled around, ready to hang him. His face turned red from anger or embarrassment, Cleo didn't know. He uttered something Cleo couldn't quite understand, but she knew he was really mad at Troy for saying something he probably shouldn't have. Or at least in front of him. Troy hid his smug face in his hands and started laughing. Hard. Crispin was about to punch him when Cleo couldn't take it anymore. She laughed and she hadn't even heard what Troy had said. She laughed so loudly the boys could surely hear her. They froze and just stared at her like she was crazy. She laughed even harder at the looks on their faces. Even the horses seemed to be laughing. Cleo's gut hurt. (Hardy har har. I'm sooo funny. Ha ha ha. I'm in a bad mood. Garr.) Then Troy joined them, and soon Crispin. After a while they stopped and sat down on the soft green grass next to each other. Cleo's sense of curiosity touched her again. "Troy, how did you know where Crispin was pointing? And how do you fight so well when you can't see your enemy. How did you know Jupiter's flank was bleeding?" she blurted out. That unusual smile crossed his face and he said "I can feel vibrations. I can see your outline right now. You aren't really sitting in a lady-like position, and aren't being cute." Cleo didn't like that at all. "What do you think I am, your _doll_?" Troy ignored her and continued. "I can feel your curiosity floating around you. You want to know _everything_. I can sense your love, courage, and wisdom coming from deep inside of you. From Crispin, I sense a gentle heart deep inside. On the outside I sense great peppiness and a fun-loving attitude. But I also sense a confused and unidentified feeling. Maybe he doesn't know what it is himself." Crispin got a murderous look on his face and said "I'm gunna hurt you." It was all he could say because he was so mad. "Ok, that's all I want to hear from Troy. Now I want to hear _all_ about you, Crispin." Cleo said before anything could get worse. Crispin looked uncomfortable and began to shrink again. Cleo was worried that it was all her fault so and waved her hands. "Y-you don't have to, i-if you don't want to. I-I mean I didn't mean to intrude your personal life. I-I was just kinda curious. I'm sorry." she stuttered and continued to wave her hands. Crispin looked even more uncomfortable that she was apologizing. There was an awkward silence as Cleo hung her head in embarrassment. "There's really nothing you'd be interested in." Crispin muttered and shifted his gaze away from everyone else. Nia snorted in disagreement. Troy said "Of course there is! Your life isn't boring!" Crispin answered "Whatever. It doesn't matter anyway. It's getting late and I'm hungry. So are the horses." He got up and stormed off. Cleo, who was still hanging her head, said "I'm sorry." even though she knew he couldn't hear her. "Don't worry about it. He has certain issues with his past. He'll get over it in a few minutes." Troy said as if nothing was wrong. Crispin returned with enough bread and cheese for everyone to munch on. (Munch. I like that word. Say it with me. "Munch" Ha-ha!) While they were _munching_, (Munch) on their food, Nia came up to Troy, who had put honey on his bread instead of cheese. Nia, being a very strange horse, licked the honey off of his face with her big, slobbery tongue. "Nia, stop, that's disgusting!" he yelled falling back in surprise. Crispin laughed and pointed, while Cleo giggled to herself. Nia whinnied with amusement and trotted over to Crispin. He patted her and said "Bad horse, you shouldn't go around licking people. You're a _horse_ remember?" It wasn't anywhere near a scolding voice, just more like a rewarding voice. Troy groaned and wiped horse slobber off his face. Jupiter walked to him and nudged him lovingly. "I'm alright, buddy." he said and patted his nose. "You're both so pretty." Cleo said addressing the horses. They neighed in pride and shook their manes. Crispin shook his head. "You're both so full of pride. Shame on you two." Before they knew it, the sky was dark and the stars shone bright. They lied on their backs, watched them twinkle, and listened to the crickets' soothing tune. Crispin pointed out a few constellations and Troy told Cleo how the crickets played their orchestra. The horses fell asleep. "You know, I could do this every night forever. In the day, I would listen to the wind and whisper secrets to the flowers. I would watch the animals play and the clouds roll by." she said with a new feeling of serenity. "Sounds good to me." Troy said. His breathing slowed and he was motionless. Three members of the team had fallen to sleep. Now only two were awake. Cleo's mind drifted to the scene where she had asked Crispin about his life. "I'm sorry for getting into your personal space earlier." she said to him. "It's OK. It was my fault. I guess I overreacted. I'm not really proud of what has happened in the past, but I guess we're all sort of like that in a way. Right?" he said. Cleo looked at him. He was a prince in the moonlight gazing at the stars. "Right, I guess." she answered, but she wasn't really sure what he meant. "Good." He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep. Now one team member was awake. Her mind was free to wonder. She wandered about Troy's childhood and how he felt about being blind. She pondered over this until she flew into a whole new world of dreams.

_The sky was a bright blue. The wind blew gently on the face of a young boy and his mother. They were sitting in a meadow of beautiful wildflowers. The mother was very gentle with her son as she cradled him in her arms. Her hair was long, blonde, and wavy. The boy looked to be about four, five, or maybe six. He was just a younger version of Troy. His hands grabbed his mother's hair and he ran his fingers through it. "Mother." he said. "Yes, my darling baby boy?" his mother answered. Her voice was just as gentle as she was with handling her impaired son. "I think you're beautiful. I _know _you're beautiful. I love you mother." His little voice was enough to make you scream, it was so darling. You could tell he meant everything that left his mouth. His mother grabbed him and put his head on her chest. She squeezed him tight. But little Troy's face remained emotionless. It was as if nothing you did could make him smile. But it wasn't that he wasn't happy. He grabbed his mother's arm. She squeezed her eyes shut. Tears still rolled down her cheeks though. She squeezed her son so tight that he might have choked. "Mother, don't cry. I'm alright. I can see. Well sort of. Don't worry." Troy said feeling his mother tremble. "My darling baby boy, I'm not crying because I'm sad. I'm crying because I'm so proud of you." she said and relaxed her grip so he could breathe. "Mother, I've been wondering… what is beauty?" little Troy asked quizzically. He had been wanting to ask that question for quite some while. His mother smiled and picked a flower for him to hold while she told a story. She grabbed her son's hand and placed the flower in it. He touched the purple pedals gently and listened to his mother's tale. "Once there were two sisters. One was named Evil, and the other Beauty. They grew up together in a castle of a far away land, high in the sky. They were both fair maidens and all of the men adored them. Evil took advantage of this and ordered the men around, giving them impossible tasks. Beauty, on the other hand, saw that the men only liked her for the way she looked. She refused to be around them. One day the sisters were sitting on their balcony looking over the land below. They became bored and decided to create inhabitants for the earth. "What shall they look like, sister?" Evil asked. "They shall look like us, sister." Beauty answered. "What about the men? It wouldn't be fair if they weren't included." Evil said, persuading Beauty to make more slaves for her and their new creations. "I suppose you are correct, my thoughtful sister." Beauty said. She refused to see any bad in anyone, and she thought she could trust her sister. So the sisters went off to create inhabitants for the earth below. Evil went off to get one of her slaves so she would have a model that she could copy. Beauty was cleverer though. She went to the highest point of the palace and said in a booming voice "My sister and I are creating inhabitants for the earth. If anyone would like to help, please come with me." She hopped on a cloud and it carried her back to the balcony. Evil was enraged that she had only one helper, while Beauty had the rest of all living things to help her. Beauty and her followers went to work immediately. Evil started plotting a way to get a woman on her side. She sat there for a minute, while the poor man just sat there in silence, waiting for something to happen. Beauty went searching for supplies and left all living things to chatter among themselves. Evil saw this as an opportunity to get _everyone _on her side. She went to a cloud and jumped on. It carried her high in the sky so everyone could hear. "While my sister is away, I will be in control. We will speed things up a bit by using my methods. I will need all of you to volunteer." she boomed in a commanding voice. The cloud carried her to he ground. She grabbed the man she had chosen earlier. "What is your name?" she asked charmingly. To all living things, she seemed to be innocent. But on the inside, she was the exact opposite of innocent. She was jealous, enraged, and had a twisted mind. "Eli" the man answered. "Eli, will you do us all a favor? Will you give yourself for our new creations? We would be so grateful if you did." "Of course I will." he said totally unaware of Evil's true intentions. She grabbed a knife from under her robe and brought it down to Eli's chest. All living things were shocked, but didn't move. Evil reached into Eli's chest and retrieved something that was glowing. She held it up for everyone to see. "This" she yelled "is the soul of man." She slipped it into her pouch and acted as if nothing was wrong, and that she hadn't just killed someone. "Now I will need a woman to volunteer." she screamed, searching the crowd for a suitable victim. Everyone stepped back. "You!" Evil yelled pointing at a young woman. She stepped up, shaking violently with fear, "Your name?" "Helen" Evil drove her knife into Helen's chest. She retrieved her soul and said "Behold the soul of woman!" She put it in her pouch. She did the same with one of every living thing. When Beauty returned and discovered what her sister had done, she wept. She wept for those who lost their lives. She wept because she couldn't trust her sister. She wept because she knew that their new creations were going to be a disaster. Evil came up to her weeping sister. She kicked her and said "You weakling. I am in control now. I have power. I overrule you. And now my new creations will be my slaves." Beauty said nothing back and continued to weep. Evil turned to all living things. "You will help me create my new slaves, or you will die." she said and got to work. She repeated many dark spells and did many gruesome things. She bossed all living things around. No one objected even though they knew it was wrong. Beauty wept, and wept, and wept. After many hours of toil, the process was complete. Evil had made inhabitants for the earth and put a soul in each one. That was when beauty stood up. She walked over to the crowd of all living things, including Evil's new creations. Evil growled in anger, but didn't move. Beauty looked at every living thing with sad eyes. "All living things, go down to the earth and be safe. Be safe from Evil." was all she had to say. All living things went down to earth to be safe from Evil. Of course she was furious that beauty had driven all of her slaves away. "How dare you!?! My own sister has done this to me! Now every living thing has gone down to earth!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "It is you, my sister, who has been wicked. You have betrayed everyone's trust. You have ended other's lives for your own. I am only doing what is right. I have freed them from your grasp so that they might be happy. I wish that I could still be your sister and be proud of it. But what is done, is done." Beauty said to her twisted sister. Evil yelled in rage and brought out her knife. Beauty only wept. Evil tried many times to kill her sister, but failed. "Fine if I cannot kill you, I will at least make all living things my slaves again." Evil said and dropped down to earth. Beauty followed. They landed and saw that every living thing was living in harmony. "I will ruin this by putting a bit of myself into every one of you!" she yelled. Huge gusts of wind began to blow. "And I will make things even by distributing part of myself to you." Beauty said. The sky went dark. Evil and Beauty began to glow. Then they broke into pieces and lodged themselves into every living thing. That is why we are as we are today. That is where the words "evil" and "beauty" come from. Beauty is the opposite of evil. Beauty is love, kindness, forgiveness, patience, and self-sacrifice." Troy's mother finished the tale. "Does that answer your question my dear?" "Yes mother. _You _are beauty." he said, hugging his mother tight and smiling. His mother cried tears of joy and hugged him back. _

Cleo woke up. She was crying. (I made myself cry too.) She sat up to see a _beautiful_ sunrise. (Dude, I made myself think so differently about the word _beautiful _or_ beauty_. I feel so mature now. I know you don't care! :| Now back to the story.) The boys' silhouettes were gazing at the sight. Cleo got up and joined them. She was so curious about the story of Evil and Beauty. She wanted to more about Troy too, but she wasn't quite ready to ask about Crispin yet. They all ate breakfast soon. After a while Cleo got up


	4. Chapter 4

They all ate breakfast soon. After a while Cleo got up the courage to ask "Is the story of Evil and Beauty true?" Crispin looked up in surprise and Troy looked disturbed. They all looked at each other's reactions. "Tell me, are you by any chance, magically linked to anything?" Crispin asked Cleo suspiciously. "Uh no. Well I don't think so. But then again, whenever those beasts come around, I get really mad. And there was my hand, which doesn't hurt any more. But what's with the mark?" she replied wondering why he thought she was linked with magic because she asked about a story. "We don't know about the mark. But we do know the story of Evil and Beauty is true. You get mad, because you are feeling the beasts' anger." Troy said, still looking disturbed. "Are you sure you're not a wizard or something?" Crispin said, still suspicious. "Oh just drop it, detective!" Troy said. "What? It's not every day we all share the same dream. As far as we know, Cleo isn't a dream sharer, like us." "Dream sharer?" she asked, even more curious. "You see, dream sharers are people who are magically linked with certain other people. And well, those people share the same dreams or visions obviously. Crispin and I are dream sharers. Apparently you are too." Troy said. Cleo realized that she had gotten distracted. "What do you mean that I feel the beasts' anger?" Crispin answered this. "It is said that the third to become attacked is to have the curse of feeling others' pain. Whenever someone is in pain, you will feel it." "Third to become attacked?" "Yes, you are the third to become attacked. That mark on your hand; whatever attacked you gave you that mark. Whatever attacked Crispin and I gave us our marks. We know one thing for sure. I was the first one. Crispin the second, you the third. We also know that we aren't like any other normal people. No, we are very different. We don't have souls. Some people would call us the living dead." Troy said sadly. Cleo was shocked. She didn't have a soul! She was the living dead! Her mouth dropped open and tears swelled in her eyes, but none flowed down her cheeks. "The story of Evil and Beauty is indeed very true." Crispin said solemnly. Cleo looked at him. He was staring at the ground, unsettled. "And… Evil has come back to life. But Beauty has been living inside of all people with a soul. Evil is trying to kill us. She wants to control all magic so she can be all-powerful again. She will make everyone her slaves if we don't stop her. Those monsters are her personal servants. They will do anything she tells them to. Haman is her personal assassin. He is not the only one. She has many assassins. She hates us. (Oh my goodness!!!)

She is very powerful, and sometimes pretends to be something else. We are Beauty's descendants. We fight for Beauty." he finished. The tears in Cleo's eyes flowed down her cheeks. "So… we are fighting the battle of Beauty and Evil? Why was I brought into this? Why was I robbed of my memories? Why was I the third one? What's the deal with magic? I can't fight Evil! I can't really use my sword. My body has a mind of its own. I'm so afraid!!!" she sobbed. She felt a mixture of emotions. She felt mostly despair, but also anger, fear, and sadness. She scrunched up into a ball and hid her face. "How did Evil even come back to life again?" "We don't know." Troy said. "There are a lot of things we don't know." Crispin added. The boys tried to comfort her, but the tears just kept flowing from Cleo's eyes. After a while, she had no tears left. She looked up. It was evening. She had spent the whole day crying. The sunset was beautiful. Now she wished she was blind like Troy. But the whispering woman told her she didn't have a choice. If she didn't save them they would perish. In other words, if she didn't defeat Evil, the whole world would fall into slavery. She looked at Crispin and Troy. She smiled, for a sense of happiness and protection came to her. (Yay! A new emotion!) They smiled back at her. She knew they were her new friends for life. They trusted her, loved her, and would always look out for her. She forgot about her troubles and had a nice dinner with her friends for life. When Cleo and Crispin were finishing up their meals, (Troy had already gobbled his up and went to bed.) they had a nice chat around a small fire they had built. "Are you scared?" Cleo asked after a while. He stared at the fire. The light danced in his face, which was emotionless. In his mind, he was searching for the right words. "I guess we all are at least a little scared on the inside aren't we?" he finally said smiling oddly at her. "Yeah" she agreed. There was an awkward silence, so Cleo piped up. "So, do you think that we should get away from here tomorrow? I mean because if we stay in one place, Evil will know where we are and send people to attack us." She felt strange saying something like that. Crispin nodded, but said nothing. She could tell that he didn't want to talk about that right now. "We should probably go to Bandi." he muttered. Cleo just nodded, assuming Bandi was a city, town, or possibly a person. He sure just wanted to ignore reality and have a nice conversation with her. And she still wanted to know more about him. But she was a little scared to ask, because of his reaction earlier. She decided just to ask and get it over with. "Um… I was wondering… not to barge into your personal space or anything… it's OK if you don't want to answer" she stammered. Crispin gave her a look that read "You're crazy." and said "Yes?" Cleo had become uncomfortable and embarrassed by now. "Um…" She looked up at him. She noticed his clothes looked expensive and remembered that his sheath had rich jewels on it. "Where did you get your clothes?" she bursted out feeling stupid. Now Crispin's face read "She's a psycho, maniac!" There once again was an odd silence. Cleo turned away and hid her face in embarrassment. She had meant to ask him about his childhood. "Uh… that's not what I meant to say! Um… earlier Troy said that your life wasn't boring and, uh, I would like to hear it." she finally said feeling even more stupid. She accidentally had raised her voice. Her face was as red as an apple. (a red one) Crispin's face broke into a smile, and he laughed softly. Cleo grew annoyed at this. "What's so funny!?" she yelled. He just laughed harder. Cleo realized that she had been mean and apologized. "It's OK to be mad. Don't worry. And it's OK to ask me things…even if I don't want to answer. That's only human. And just because you don't have a soul, doesn't mean you don't have a heart. And your heart is pure human." he said. Cleo just couldn't help but to smile. She felt right. She felt like she was the place where she was supposed to be. She felt like she was loved. She felt at home. He smiled back at her. The horses came up to them. (I love the horsies.) They were happy. Nia, the _extremely_ strange horse, licked Crispin on the cheek. He burst out laughing. Troy woke up and said in a grumpy voice "Would you kindly shut your mouth please?" Cleo burst out laughing too. She was grateful to be with her new friends. The horses seemed to be laughing also. The look on Troy's face said that he was laughing on the inside. Cleo was so happy that she could laugh with her friends. When the laughing finally stopped, they all fell asleep under a starry sky. That night they didn't share their dreams.

_Cleo was sitting by a very small fire. She realized that she wasn't in her own body; she was in a stranger's. It was dark. The moon didn't shine. A sorrowful yet angry air hung around the stranger's body. She heard a raven calling in the distance. The stranger stood up and looked up to the dark sky. Normally Cleo wouldn't be able to in such darkness, but since she was looking through the stranger's eyes, she could see perfectly. The raven became visible. The stranger lifted its arm where the raven perched itself. It looked in the eyes of the stranger. Cleo saw what the stranger saw. She saw the raven's glazed, black eyes looking into the eyes of the stranger. They were pure evil, yet sad. It crowed loudly and flew into the darkness. Rage overcame the stranger. Lightning suddenly flickered in the sky. A slight roll of thunder echoed through the night. It started pouring rain, which put out the fire. The stranger growled and ran to follow the raven in the night. _

Cleo woke up to hear thunder crashing. It started to rain. _"Uh oh. That dream might've meant something." _Crispin woke up saying"Ah! Wet! Wet! Rain!" Troy woke up and growled. "Great. Just great. It's raining. Just my luck." he said obviously annoyed. Cleo kind of liked the rain. It was the first time she had gotten to enjoy it. It was cool and refreshing in a way. "What time do you think it is?" Crispin asked. Cleo looked up to the sky, because Roy couldn't really see. (Remember?) All she could see was grey rain clouds. "No way of telling" Troy sighed grumpily and hung his head. They all got up and ran to the nearest source of shelter from the rain. Cleo had forgotten all about her dream. She and Crispin sat and watched the rain, while Troy listened. "I don't like rain. It makes continuous noise and all I can feel are little splatters everywhere. I can't see my surroundings very well. Plus it just makes me grumpy." he said and covered his ears. "Don't worry buddy. We'll lead you anywhere you need to go." Crispin said trying to make him feel a little bit better. "I don't like to be lead everywhere." he answered stubbornly. Crispin's face fell. "Whenever you're grumpy, I'm grumpy. So stop being grumpy." "I'm not grumpy." "Are too." "Am not." Are too." "Am not." They sounded like children. Cleo grew tired of their bickering and punched them both lightly on the shoulder. "Ow!" they said simultaneously. "Oh that didn't hurt." "Did too!" they said again simultaneously. Cleo sighed angrily. Then she caught herself. "Look at us. We're acting like little children. We're friends aren't we? So I say we cheer up." "How can we cheer up when it's raining?" Troy said still grumpy. Crispin nodded in agreement. "We just have to look at the rain in the right way." "How am I supposed to _look_ at the rain in the right way if I can't see at all?" Troy retorted. "You know what I mean." she answered, refusing to get mad. "How can we look at it in the right way?" Crispin asked. "You can look at it the fun way." she answered wanting very badly to play a game of some sort. "Fun way?" Troy questioned. "Yeah the fun way." "What is the fun way to look at the rain?" Crispin asked. "Let me show you." she said happily and grabbed their hands. "What?" was all that they could get out before they were tugged into the rain. Wet rain drops splattered on their faces as they ran. Cleo didn't know where she was taking them, but she was enjoying the experience with her friends. Pretty soon everyone was enjoying it. The horses had come along too. They were all having a good time running into each other and racing. After a while, the rain slowed down somewhat. Cleo didn't know how, but they had ended up in a dark, gloomy forest. They were on a beaten path. Lightning raced across the sky and made a loud cracking noise. They all jumped. Cleo became uneasy and came closer to the boys. How did this happen? Was this even possible? What was going on? Nobody was having much fun now. "Well at least the rain slowed down." Crispin told Troy. Troy ignored that comment and said "Does this look familiar to you Crispin? It feels familiar to me." Crispin scrutinized the place. (Wordly Wise Word!) "You know, it kinda does." he finally said. Cleo's attention went to a bird flying in the sky. It called out. It was the raven from her dream! Everyone's eyes widened. "That can't be…" Troy said. "Ramona." Crispin finished. "I saw that bird in my dream last night! I'm so sorry I didn't tell you! I guess I just forgot. I'm so sorry." she said worried that they might be mad at her. "That's not our problem now. We need to get out of here and _fast_ before that bird of hers gives us away." Crispin said and lead her the opposite direction of the raven. Thunder rolled loudly and lightning made a slapping sound. Cleo was the only one that jumped this time. The boys were too focused on getting away from the raven. Even the horses were determined to get out of there. "By the way, who is Ramona?" Cleo asked as she was being hurried along. "She's one of Evil's most dangerous assassins." Troy said in a voice full of worry. The rain picked up and out of her own worry, Cleo grabbed both of the boys' hands so Crispin could guide her and she could guide Troy. She knew he didn't want to be lead around, but she knew he was struggling, and didn't want him to fall behind or get separated. The horses just followed Troy. Suddenly Cleo felt sad. Out of nowhere, a lady with thick, red hair came to stand in front of them. She was dressed in gray battle armor. "Hello there, I think I will be sincere and introduce myself before I slaughter you all. I am Ramona, daughter of Reyson and Elaina. I fight for the Dark Queen. I am the Sage of Sorrow. It is a pleasure to meet you." she said to Cleo. She turned her gaze to Troy and Crispin. "Nice to see you boys again." was all she said. Crispin looked angry and gripped his sword, ready to fight. Troy was emotionless, but ready to fight if needed. Ramona's raven was flying overhead. Cleo became more and more sorrowful by the second. Ramona walked up to her. Her eyes were like the raven's as far as emotions. They were sad, yet evil. A smile came to Ramona's face. It was angry. "I've been wanting to meet you. I've introduced myself. Now it's your turn. I know your name, but who are your parents? Are they still alive? Where are they?" she asked. The sorrow flooded Cleo as she heard these words. She couldn't answer those questions. She knew nothing of her parents. As far as she was concerned, she didn't have any. "I can't answer those questions." she said, choking back tears. She wasn't going to let one of Evil's assassins see her suffer. Ramona laughed at this. Her raven landed in a nearby tree and crowed. "He has something to ask you." she said gesturing toward the bird. It crowed again. "He says he would like to know if you really think you can defeat the Dark Queen." she translated. Cleo let the tears flow. She couldn't hold them back. She didn't know if she could even survive the pouring rain and cold wind right now. Ramona smiled in amusement. Crispin got a murderous look on his face and brought the tip of his sword to her neck. She stopped smiling. "Crispin! Don't be so stupid." Troy said. Crispin ignored him and kept his pose. "Fine. If that's the way you want to do it, then let's get going." Ramona said looking down at Crispin's blade. Cleo wiped away her tears and unsheathed her sword. She could control her body this time. Troy copied. The raven crowed. Ramona somehow managed to kick Crispin and escape his blade. Something had changed about her. Her eyes were different. They were the eyes of a snake. She wasn't a human any more. She was a beast with qualities of animals. She seemed to know that Troy couldn't maneuver well in rain, for she lunged strait towards him with fangs and sharp claws. Without hesitation, Cleo ran forward and kicked her aside. She fell to the ground, but got back up with the roar of a jaguar. "Nice" Crispin said to Cleo. She had no idea what she was doing. And she didn't like the idea that she was hurting Ramona, but she was attacking one of her dear friends and she wouldn't tolerate that. Ramona roared again, but this time sounded like a tiger. Sorrow returned to Cleo and she froze. She remembered what Ramona had said. The words still stung as they were repeated in her mind. Meanwhile, Troy, Crispin, and Ramona were having an all-out brawl. (Wahoo! Yeah a brawl! I crave action!) After she had beaten the boys to the ground, Ramona froze and gazed at Cleo. Her evil snake eyes placed fear in her. They were both frozen and the only thing that could be heard was the rain. Ramona snapped out of it and growled like a cougar. Cleo was too sad to care. Ramona took advantage of this and rushed forward. "Well are you just going to stand there and do nothing while I clobber you? I've already knocked your friends unconscious. Well?" she screamed a deranged voice. Cleo didn't answer. She just stared at the muddy ground. Why didn't she have the love of parents? Why did she have to defeat Evil? She couldn't do it. An evil smile came to Ramona's face as she reached out and punched Cleo in the jaw. She had the strength of a mighty dragon. Cleo yelled in pain and fell in the mud. She felt so helpless. She faded in and out of consciousness. Ramona came to stand over her. She opened her mouth to say something but instead was kicked over by Nia. She had completely forgotten about the horses. They trampled her until she screamed "Don't think this will be the last time you'll see me!" She was covered with black smoke. When it cleared away, she had vanished. Cleo instantly snapped out of her trance of sorrow. Her first concern was for the rest of the team. She ran over to the boys who were still unconscious. She knelt by them. Suddenly Crispin awake saying "Ah! Wet! Wet! Rain!" Cleo couldn't help but giggle. She was no longer concerned for him in any way. He was alright. But what about Troy? Was he OK? Crispin was worried too. They both sighed with relief as he awoke. Crispin smiled and helped his friend up.


	5. Chapter 5

"Where's Ramona?" he asked. "She poofed away." she answered. "Good" "Now I recognize this place. It's the road to Bandi." Crispin said proud of himself. It had stopped raining and the sun shone bright in the morning sky. "Well let's get moving. I'm tired of nature." Troy said and started down the road. The horses followed him. Crispin had gotten his joking mood back. "You can't escape nature, my friend!" he yelled and ran to catch up with him. Cleo followed everyone else like a little duckling following its mother. They wind blew on their faces as they walked. Cleo looked at Troy. She admired him. He was truly amazing. He was strong even though he had a great disadvantage. Her attention was turned to Crispin when he said "You know I wonder what kind of fighting style you have, Cleo." Cleo was sort of confused by the comment. Crispin noticed and explained. "Your fighting style is what kind of fighting you specialize in. My specialty is speed. Troy's is strength." "My only specialties are getting kicked around and letting someone else protect me." she answered. "You just haven't had enough time to prove yourself." he said with a smile on his face. "I wonder if you can use magic." Troy cut in. "Magic?" "Yeah. Crispin and I can sort of use magic. Our swords are full of it. You know how I specialize in strength? Generally, fire symbolizes strength. So I can use fire magic with my sword. Crispin's strong point is speed. Wind symbolizes speed." "And rivers. Don't forget rivers." Crispin cut in "So he can use wind magic with his sword and control some water, but not very much." Troy said sounding like an expert. "Is that how the fire was put out before? Did one of you do that?" Cleo asked, remembering the time when she met Haman. "That was kind of a group effort. I blew it away and Troy stored it in his sword. He used it later to get Haman." Crispin answered. Cleo smiled. She was so amazed. Magic! To think, she might be able to use it too if she learned how. She was walking with two experts on swordsmanship and magic. She was a little overly excited, but she kept a calm face. Troy could sense her silent mirth. Crispin was as clueless as he always was. "So how about we find that specialty of yours?" Crispin said happily. Cleo nodded excitedly. She was dragged into an open glade. "What are we doing exactly?" she asked. "We're going to do a little sparring." Troy answered. Cleo wasn't quite so sure about this. She wasn't nearly as experienced as either of her teammates. Not even the horses. But she trusted that none of them would hurt her in any way. "You and I will go first." Troy said to Cleo. They faced each other and drew their swords. The ground was wet from the rain. "Ladies first." Cleo didn't want to go first. "No you" she said sounding like a frightened little child. He shrugged and rushed forward. He swung his gleaming sword at her legs. She blocked. But she felt so much force that she just fell back in surprise. She had no idea how strong he was. And he wasn't really trying his best. That was only a small fraction of his power. Cleo felt like a tiny little ant that was trying to defeat a mighty lion. Troy was the king of the jungle and she was a mere ant. He attacked again, this time kicking the sword out of her hand. Cleo watched in horror as her beautiful sword fell onto the muddy ground. She was sure it was over. Soon Troy would call "dead" and it would be finished. But he didn't. He was waiting for her next move. But she didn't have a weapon. What was she supposed to do?

She knew one thing for sure. She wasn't going to surrender. She wasn't going to call "I'm dead" and end it all. She wanted to fight. She wanted to prove herself. But how? Troy grew tired of waiting on her and lunged forward. She jumped back again. She saw that he wasn't going to hold back _too_ much. He swung again. She dodged. They did this several times until Cleo saw a thick tree limb on the ground. She dodged Troy one more time and ran toward it. She picked it up. She used it to block his next few moves. After a while they were both breathing heavily. Cleo again watched in horror as Troy's sword cut it in half in one swift movement. She was tired and defenseless. What was she going to do? She wasn't going to give up. She was going to win. He came at her once again. She didn't know what else to do. She lifted. There was power coming from her. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. The power grew until she felt like she was going to explode. She felt it all leave her in an instant. It was going out of her raised hand. She whispered something in a foreign language she didn't know. Out of her hand came dark shards of magic. They were whizzing everywhere. Cleo had no idea what she was doing. She felt like she was in a dream. When she saw the shards hit Troy, she snapped out of it. She was extremely out of it. She was dizzy. She dropped to her knees. The world was spinning in circles.


End file.
